


he says he wants to as well, but he is a liar

by MageOfCole



Series: Cole Does Jangobi Week 2021 [3]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Legends - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Force-Sensitive Jango Fett, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Jangobi Week (Star Wars), Jaster Mereel Lives, M/M, Mand'alor Jango Fett, Mandalorian Obi-Wan Kenobi, Mando'a Language (Star Wars), Morally Ambiguous Character, Padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi, Planet Mandalore (Star Wars), Protective Jango Fett, Trans Obi-Wan Kenobi, True Mandalorians (Star Wars), Undercover, Undercover Missions, Unplanned Pregnancy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-03
Updated: 2021-02-03
Packaged: 2021-03-14 07:08:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,479
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29166999
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MageOfCole/pseuds/MageOfCole
Summary: To the True Mandalorians, Ben Naasad was just another child who had once been orphaned by Death Watch, just another child of Manda who had had his soul and name stolen by the New Mandalorian way. When he had come to them, seeking a fresh start, they had welcomed him with open arms, had taken him into their home and family, and named him one of them. But it had been a lie.(Day 3 - Undercover)
Relationships: Jango Fett & Myles the Mandalorian, Jango Fett/Obi-Wan Kenobi, Obi-Wan Kenobi & Myles the Mandalorian
Series: Cole Does Jangobi Week 2021 [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2138826
Comments: 30
Kudos: 431
Collections: Anything But Qui-Gon, Jangobi Week





	he says he wants to as well, but he is a liar

**Author's Note:**

> So, notes for this AU:  
> -Manda'yaim was never bombed by the Republic, instead a treaty was made that could basically be boiled down to: you stay out of my way and I'll stay out of yours. Because of so many inter-Clan wars, the New Mandalorians were the most secure power and thus were recognized as the planet's leaders by the Republic.  
> -The planet is pretty much split into two factions, North and South Mandalore. North Mandalore is home to those with ancestral ties to the planet, and those adopted into their clans - basically the Old Mandalorians. While South Mandalore is mostly populated by those who came from Kalevala, the ones who came to be called New Mandalorians.  
> -Jaster lived on Korda IV, but lost a lot of his mobility, so he stepped down as Mand'alor, naming Jango his successor. Because of this Galidraan happened differently, and most of the warriors there survived when the Jedi were tricked into attacking them, and Jaster successfully talked them out of the situation.  
> -Death Watch isn't much of a threat anymore, but the True Mandalorians are still battling them, which has them in an awkward alliance with the New Mandalorians while they try to negotiate leadership of the planet be returned to the Mand'alor.  
> -The Republic doesn't want the Old Mandalorians in charge, so they sent Qui-Gon to make sure the New Mandalorians came out on top, and Qui-Gon assigned Obi-Wan to go undercover (despite it really not being what Obi-Wan was trained for)  
> -The New Mandalorians don't have a Foundling creed, instead it's more like the American Foster System, and this seems monstrous to the Old Mandalorians, and a betrayal against everything they stand for. If you know anything about the dark side of the foster system, this is probably believable to you too.  
> -Obi-Wan genuinely fell in love with Jango, and when one thing led to another, Qui-Gon ordered him to pull out because he was getting too close to the people he was spying on. When Obi-Wan had tried to refuse, Qui-Gon decided to extract him himself. He's a Padawan, but he's also an adult!

Jango sweeps through the halls like a violent summer storm, all but spitting in anger, teeth bared in a furious snarl under his _buy’ce_. They had been betrayed. _He_ had been betrayed.

Ben had betrayed him.

Almost a year ago, they had found a scrawny, underfed redhead barely out of his teen years wandering _Manda’yaim_ , just another victim of _Kyr’tsad_ and the Kalevalan pretenders. His story had been one that they’d all heard, orphaned by _Kyr’tsad_ as a child and raised among the New Mandalorians’ sickening idea of foster care. They’d all considered him one of so many unlucky children, but he’d proven that he was _Mandokarla_ despite the _dar’manda_ way the Kalevalans had raised him, without a connection of _aliit_ or a proper education as a _Mando’ad_. He hadn’t allowed himself to be brainwashed by their propaganda, had seen past it, and he hadn’t let Kryze and his ilk destroy his connection to the Manda.

They’d taken him into their homes, had welcomed him as one of them, and taught him what it had truly meant to be _Mando’ad_. Jango’s own _vod_ Myles had adopted Ben Naasad into his Clan, had made him Ben Rau of House Mereel. He had given him the name and soul that had been denied to him his entire life, had helped him forge his _beskar’gam_ and complete the _verd’goten_ that the _dar’manda_ New Mandalorians had never allowed.

Jango had fallen in love with him, had asked him to exchange the _riduurok_ with him, and now he can’t help but wonder how much of it was a _lie_. Ben - if that even was his name - had been a spy. He had been spying on them all along, passing on everything he learned to Kryze, the Republic dog that he is.

Had it all been a lie? Had the love Ben had felt for him, for all of them, been just a ruse? All that time together, all those times they’d fallen into bed together and given over pieces of themselves to the other. The warmth in blue eyes, the sweet lingering kisses and the teasing drag of graceful hands across Jango’s skin; had it really been _just_ a mission to Ben?

Jango had nearly torn the compound apart looking for his _ven’riduur_ after the Republic-New Mandalorian attack that had shaken his home, when he’d learned that Ben was missing. He had figured then that they’d purposely captured the intended of the Mand’alor, had taken his captive; Ben had been sick recently, could barely get out of bed in the mornings with throwing up everything he had eaten the night before. He had been clammy and feverish, and Jango had been trying to convince his _cyare_ to go see a _baar’ur_ because he didn’t know how to help him. When the attack had happened, Ben should have been in the Mand’alor’s suite, resting surrounded by _verde_ who would protect him, but Jango had returned to his rooms, victorious in repelling the attackers, to find the guards he had assigned to his ill _ven’riduur_ unconscious on the floors.

The beskar doors that should have been protecting him had been cut away at the walls, by a _lightsaber_. Jango had nearly been overcome with protective terror, seeing the melted, warped stone and his missing _ven’riduur_ who had been too sick to even get out of bed that morning, who definitely wouldn’t have been able to defend himself against a _Jetii_ , no matter how skilled of a fighter he had grown to become over the year with the _Haat’ade_.

It hadn’t taken long to organize an attack group; Jango’s people loved his intended. Ben was easy to like, spunky and feisty, but gentle and kind at the same time, a vicious fighter who cared so much for _ade_ that he spent most of his free time with the Clan children and Foundlings. He and his people had rarely ever attacked the New Mandalorians, saw it as dishonourable to fight those who wouldn’t even pick up a weapon to defend their own children, and kept most of their battles solely in negotiations - Jaster was especially good at cowing Kryze and his ilk, who took one look at the crippled former Mand’alor and thought themselves above him, who seemed to forget that it was _Jaster_ who had made the _Haat’ade_ who they are - but in working with _Jetiise_ , who had nearly killed Jango and his super-commandos on Galidraan, to take Jango’s _ven’riduur_ , they had given the Haat’ade an open invitation for _war_.

It had been criminally easy to take over Sundari, to steal the city out from under Duke Kryze and his Kalevalan pretenders, and retake it for Mandalore. It had been far too easy for the enraged _Haat’ade_ to take the palace, to take custody of the children of House Kryze, to take the Duke’s youngest daughter and grandson as wards. Neither Bo-Katan or little Korkie would come to harm among the Haat’ade, instead they’d be adopted into a different Clan while House and Clan Kryze were dissolved and declared _dar’manda_ , and the New Mandalorians and noncombatants that surrendered and swore to Jango as the Mand’alor would be given leniency and a chance to achieve _cin vhetin_.

It had been far too easy for all the trouble they had been giving him, but Jango had ensured his hold of _Manda’yaim_.

While his verde had been taking the capital, Jango had gone hunting, intent on finding where his _ven’riduur_ had been hidden, and trusting his connection to the Manda to lead him to where he needed to go. He hadn’t been led towards the cell block like he had been expecting, instead, Jango had found himself marching through the guest wing of the palace, where the Duke’s most important visitors were to be housed. He had found his _ven’riduur_ laying in a plush bed, looking a little green, wearing the distinctive robes of the _Jetiise_ , the shaggy red hair that Jango had so loved running his hands through shaved down to the cut of a _hibir_. He’d jerked when Jango had burst into the room, staring at him with shock and fear as he’d fumbled with the hilt of a _jetii’kad_ , and for a moment, they’d only stared at each other as Jango tried to understand what he was looking at.

He had still been processing it when the _Jetii_ had attacked. The large Human had come out of nowhere, but Manda’s warning and the widening of Ben’s eyes had given him the time he needed to dodge the green _kad’au_ the could have taken his head off otherwise. The fight that had followed had been a blur; his anger and fury had given him the strength he needed to win though, but the moment the _Jetii_ ’s body had dropped, Ben had _screamed_.

Jango had known then, what it was that his _ven’riduur_ was.

A _Jetii_ and a spy; but still, this was the man Jango had loved. He had ordered the _baar’ur_ to treat him, when they’d brought him back to Keldabe, but instead of being moved to their room, like he should have been if he hadn’t betrayed them, Ben had been locked away in a cell, to await his fate while Jango finished up meeting with his council and setting up a loyal governor to take over Sundari. He’d taken longer than he usually would, trying to work his way through the tangled knot of hurt betrayal in his heart, had tried to ignore the ache in his chest.

He’d only had one heart to give, after all, and he’d given it willingly to a man who had been lying about everything.

Jango meets Myles outside of the cell block. His _vod_ ’s hurt is a palpable thing in the air around him; Myles had loved Ben too, just as much as Jango did, and his _vod’ika_ ’s betrayal had hurt him just as much as it had the young Mand’alor.

Wordlessly, Jango claps his battle-bonded brother’s shoulder in support, and Myles’ _buy’ce_ dips. They’re both silent for a long moment, taking strength from each other just as they would on the battlefield, before Myles speaks.

“It couldn’t have all been a lie.” He says slowly, and the vocoder in his _buy’ce_ may hide a lot of things, but Jango knows his _vod_ just as well as he knows himself, he can hear the shakiness of unshed tears, the cracking of a broken heart, and Jango squeezes the other man’s shoulder. “ _Right_?”

Jango thinks of the man he had fallen in love with; thinks of the genuine kindness and delight in blue eyes, and fiery spirit of a fighter that couldn’t be faked - the way he had _flourished_ learning the ways of a _Haat’ad_. Ben had kneeled at his feet and sworn to the _resol’nare_ , had declared his desire to follow the path for _cin vhetin_. He had kissed Jango with such gentle passion, had let Jango show him how to make love, and had accepted Jango’s proposal to become one.

Not all of it could have been a lie. No one could have faked all that for over a year; not even a _Jetii_.

A memory rises above his distress, of ancient texts and listening to his Buir late at night as they’d gone over the history of Mandalore. There were ways, old ones, to truly seek _cin vhetin_ , Jango remembers, and once the idea is there, it takes root and flowers. Ben had sworn to _cin vhetin_ , had sworn to a fresh start, and there were ways Jango could lead him on that path. Ways that not even the _Jetiise_ could poison.

But he wants to hear what Ben has to say first.

“We won’t let it be a lie.” He swears to Myles, watching the way he perks up, despite his confusion. “Ben is one of us - whatever he was before doesn’t matter anymore. He swore _cin vhetin_ , and that’s what he’ll do.” With that, Jango steps past his second, feeling the other man fall in step behind him more than he sees him, and they sweep deeper into the cell block.

In front of him and just outside of the only occupied cell on this level, _Baar’ur_ Nawara straightens. Helmetless, the Twi’Lek salutes, “Mand’alor!” Xe greets, and Jango nods to the older _Mando’ad_.

Beyond the red laser shield, Ben sits huddled on his cot, back to them and eyes on the wall, and Jango can’t force his eyes away from his _ven’riduur_ despite his words being for his _baar’ur_. “Anything to report, Nawara?” A flinch travels up his _ven’riduur_ ’s spine.

“' _Lek_ , _alor_.” A gesture of a hand signals for the doctor to speak, and Nawara only hesitates momentarily. “I ran some tests, to see what could be making him so ill, and I received some positive results.” Xe swallows nervously, “He’s pregnant, Mand’alor, just past eleven weeks. The fetal DNA is a fifty-percent match to yours.”

Jango stills, and he watches Ben - his _pregnant ven’riduur_ \- shiver. The joy of learning that he’s going to be a Buir is undercut by his anger at his _cyare_ for leaving, but now, he can’t help but wonder how willing Ben had been to leave. He could have easily let the _Jetii_ into their suite if he was really running, could have left, but instead the _Jetii_ that Jango had killed had forced his way in, had cut down the blast doors and taken him. Ben could have interfered in their battle at any time, could have leapt to the _Jetii_ ’s defense, but instead he’d watched. He hadn’t even fought when Jango had sedated him for transfer back to Keldabe, and the Mand’alor knows that he could have.

Perhaps Ben had come to them as a spy - but it seems likely that he’d grown to genuinely want to be among the _Haat’ade_.

“Why?” Jango’s voice pierces the silence that had followed the doctor’s words, but they’re not aimed at Nawara.

“I was given a mission.” Ben’s voice is quiet, thick with tears, but he doesn’t look at Jango, and he’s no longer using the Kalevalan accent he must have appropriated for his deception, it’s High Coruscanti instead, but Jango can hear the underlining burr of the Concord Dawn accent his knows his _ven’riduur_ had picked up from him. “I was to infiltrate the _Haat’ade_ and report back to my Master. To ensure you didn’t get more of a foothold on _Manda’yaim_ , and to support Duke Kryze and his Heiress’ claim to the system.” His head droops lower, “The Senate wants access to the beskar mines, but can’t move openly because of the treaties, not without looking like the aggressor to the other systems. I’m young enough that it was decided that I was the best option to complete this half of our mission; an orphan of the Clan Wars looking to join you would be more believable than a man nearing his fifties.” Ben’s voice breaks, and Jango wants desperately to hold him, to comfort him and wipe away his tears.

“But it wasn’t about the mission anymore.” Jango says slowly, “Was it? If it was just a mission, you wouldn’t have accepted my courtship, wouldn’t have let me fuck you -” Ben twitches, “- because you’re not that kind of person, are you, Ben?”

“It’s Obi-Wan.” Ben whispers, voice cracking, “Jedi Padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi.”

“No, it’s not.” Jango states, voice confident, “You swore _cin vhetin_. Obi-Wan Kenobi no longer exists.” Slowly, the Mand’alor steps forward, keying himself into the cell and pulling off his _buy’ce_ as he moves. “A fresh start - who you were before no longer matters.” He comes to a stop next to the cell cot, and slowly reaches out a hand. His fingers move through short, prickly strands of copper hair that lack the waves that he had grown to associate with his _ven’riduur_ , and his nose crinkles at the sight of the ugly nerftail and braid he wore. Neither would be comfortable under his _buy’ce_. Ben melts into the touch like he always does, hiccuping faintly on a sob. “You’re Ben Rau, of House Mereel, soon to be of Clan Fett.”

“ _This_ wasn’t part of the mission.” Ben sobs, one hand pressing against his stomach as he lifts his head so that Jango could meet his _ven’riduur_ ’s bloodshot eyes and see the tears trailing across freckled cheeks. His gaze is pleading. “Master Qui-Gon said I was getting too attached, and ordered my extraction. _You_ were never part of the mission.” He shakes like a newborn striil, “I didn’t want to leave.”

Jango steps forward again, gathering his _cyare_ into his arms and letting the younger man collapse against him. “ _K’uur_.” The Mand’alor soothes, “I know, Ben. _Ni kar'tayl gar darasuum_.”

In his arms, Ben breaks, but Jango is confident in his ability to help him put himself back together.

**Author's Note:**

> Mando'a is from here: http://mandoa.org/ if you have specific translation questions, I'm happy to answer them! (I'm just a little too tired rn to do it, and I'll probably forget lmao)


End file.
